A Companion's Bond
by Shadow Snivy
Summary: What happens when one of your best friends takes a turn for the worst? A little girl and an abused eevee meet each other in a daisy field and ever since that moment they grow up together, surviving through the suffering to stay with each other. When a certain tragic event comes by, Aleu refuses to let her memory and bond of Eevee go to waste. Oneshot.


Aleu stared out of the smudged window, staring at the vast field of white flowers before her. Her parents sat on a ragged, dull green couch inside and stared at their old fashioned black-and-white television. They didn't even realize how long Aleu had been there, looking out at the white daisy flower field.

The little girl turned around, now looking at her parents, her long black hair swirling around her as she moved. Her parents caught the slight movement from her daughter and they both looked over in her direction. They had blank expressions, but inside they felt happy by seeing how energetic she was. Aleu ran up to the couch, having to look up high just to see her parents' faces. Aleu started to speak with a high pitched voice. "Mummy, Pappy, can I go outside and play in the pretty flowers?" she asked. Both of the parents gave a fainted smile, happy to see their daughter so eager for something. They both thought her reaction to them saying yes would be as adorable as it always was, but they knew it could be dangerous if she went outside alone. Aleu was only a six year old little girl, but neither of them wanted to watch their daughter frolic in the field for hours at a time. They two parents looked over at each other in unison, than they leaned in close to start whispering to each other.

Aleu stared at her parents, not at all fazed or concerned by the fact they were whispering. She decided to turn around and stare out at the daisies while waiting. She couldn't wait till she started to roll around in the flowers right in front of their small little cottage. She started to become impatient, but she continued to stare at the wide field which calmed her nerves. Aleu didn't even consider the alternative of her parents' saying yes, growing more impatient with each passing second.

Her parents continued to whisper to each other. Neither of the two wanted to sit out on the rickety porch and watch their daughter yet again, no matter how wrong it sounded that they didn't want to. They've been doing that an awful lot for the last month, seeing their daughter had loved to play in the field to pass the time. They've decided to take turns every day, but they both were too exhausted to do it for a while. They both however didn't want to see the disappointed face of Aleu again. Last time they said no, her eyes grew misty and she gave a pout, about to break into a crying tantrum. They gave in and let her play and haven't said no to her ever since. They nervously came up with an answer, deciding that she could watch out for herself just this once. There wasn't any nearby settlements or humans in any direction, unless you count a small town a few miles away. They were isolated right next to a huge flower field and a pine-tree forest. They looked away from each other and stared down at their cute little daughter. Aleu didn't notice them turn to face her, still staring out at the field of flowers through the window.

Aleu's dad who was closest tapped Aleu on her shoulder, grabbing her attention. She immediately jumped up and turned around faster than the two grown-ups could blink. She had a wide smile and was squeezing her hands together. "Okay Aleu, you can go outside, but it's going to be a bit different this time," Aleu's dad started. Aleu's happiness seemed to disappear and she looked up with a hopeful expression. Aleu didn't like the sound of that.

Her mom continued from where the dad left off. "You can go outside and play, but this time we won't be watching you. We're going to be inside, so if anything happens, run back to the cottage and tell us immediately, okay?" Aleu knew she had to agree to this or she wouldn't be able to play outside. She nodded her head frantically. Her mom gave out a smile and continued. "Also, you need to run back to the cottage if you start to feel tired or scared, or if you have a feeling that a stranger's nearby. It could be dangerous, so you'd need to run back here as fast as you can. If nothing unusual happens, you need to be back in here before sunset. You can also get as dirty as you want because once you get back inside, you're going to be taking a bath, understand?" Aleu looked out the window to see the sun was in the middle of the sky. She had hours before it would be sunset. Aleu didn't like that last part though. If she went outside, she'd have to take a bath. She hated baths and didn't want to take one at all. However she didn't want to stay inside, so she nodded her head in agreement, a little less eagerly this time. Aleu hoped there wouldn't be any more things she had to remember.

"Well that's it," her dad finished. Aleu cracked a smile, and jumped in the air with joy. She could now head outside and play in the white daisies, except this time she had responsibility. This was the first time they've ever given Aleu responsibility, and she knew it. She knew that if she messed this up, she wouldn't have a chance like this for a long time. Aleu couldn't mess this up, and if she didn't, she'd be able to have more responsibility and her parents would trust her more!

"Okay, now go on and play," Aleu's mom insisted. Aleu felt so happy, so she ran up and hugged her parents. She had small arms so she hugged them one at a time. First she hugged her mom, and then her dad. She could hear them snickering a bit, both of them smiling wide. The dad patted Aleu on the head and her mom just hugged her a second time. No one else talked as Aleu ran toward the front door, seeing the bronze and scratched up door knob. She quickly turned it, a gust of wind blowing open the door slightly. Pulled all the way open, the fresh summer breeze blew in, Aleu's pure black hair blowing wildly all over the place. The burst of wind settled down, and soon Aleu was outside and already had closed the door. She screamed with glee. Aleu never got tired of the fresh summer breeze or the scent of the daisies that lingered in the air. She ran down the creaky front porch steps and started to run through the flower field.

Hours had passed. She did every possible thing she could do in the flower field. She ran, jumped, rolled, screamed, and admired her surroundings. She never stopped smiling. Aleu fell down into the white daises, now staring up at the clouds. A fun game she loved to do was make shapes out of the clouds that passed by. Aleu started to decipher the clouds in shapes while also noticing that it was nearly sunset, and remembered what her mom had said. She found a cloud that looked like some Charizards staring down at a pile of berries. Another one looked like a tree that was about to fall over. Another looked like a swarm of beedril. Aleu saw many other shapes in the clouds. She had no idea how much time had passed, but soon she saw that sunset had just barely started. Surprised, she moved into a sitting up position. It was sunset already? Aleu had no idea where the time had gone. It was phenomenal, it shouldn't have been sunset. Although, Aleu didn't know that she was just having too much fun to notice. Aleu didn't want to head home, especially because she knew that she'd have to take a bath. She wanted responsibility though, and didn't want to be punished. She stood up slowly, taking one last glimpse of the field of white daisies.

Aleu turned around and faced her cottage. She had wandered far out into the field, about a hundred yards off of a dirt path nearby which lead towards the only nearby city. Aleu recalled that the city was just a small town with only a few convenient stores. Her parents walked along the dirt path for about a few miles to reach the small town and gather food and supplies. Right now they were saving up for a rapidash or a ponyta so they could ride over to town faster. She couldn't remember the name of the small town, however. Anyways, she started to trudge through the flowers back to the cottage. She checked her surroundings one last time, now only about ten meters away from her home.

Nearly at her porch steps, something seemed to break the constant sound of the wind. It was abnormal compared to everything she heard over the last few weeks in the field. It almost sounded like a meow noise, as if it came from a Pokémon. The sound forced Aleu to stop in place, just yards away from the front porch. She looked around frantically to see if there was anything nearby. Even though she looked over the area a second time, she had found nothing. She shrugged the thought off and continued towards her cottage. The thought of the bath never left her mind. She hated baths, and didn't want one at all.

The noise came back a second time. Aleu's eyes grew wide with surprise, now stunned in the spot with terror. The meow noise, it had to be coming from a Pokémon, no doubt. The thing that really freaked Aleu out was the fact that she had no idea which Pokémon it was. It can be some sort of huge and dangerous Pokémon, or maybe one very weak and gentle. Either way, she wanted to know. She ignored the warnings her parents had told her and decided to find out which Pokémon was making that noise. She figured that it came from the field of daisies, but wasn't sure. She already had checked but she didn't see anything. She turned around quickly to face the flower field a third time, hoping she would see the mewing Pokémon before it started to hide again. Aleu turned around so fast, her black hair got into her eyes. She quickly brushed it away, afraid that she had missed the Pokémon. She then noticed movement in the flowers very close. It was a small flash of brown, but it disappeared in the thick field of white daisies.

A flash of brown, it could've been from a tail or a pair of ears, but Aleu couldn't quite tell. Aleu knew that since the Pokémon was small enough to hide in the flowers, it couldn't be that big. That fact reassured Aleu a bit, but she was still worried. It was still a Pokémon which was still dangerous. She scanned through the white daises, watching for any slight movement of the Pokémon. She watched closely, and almost immediately she saw some altered movement in the flowers. Unlike the flowers always moving in sync with the wind, a small area was moving wildly and randomly, a small dash of brown visible from under the flowers. The Pokémon was close, very close. It was only about ten yards away.

Aleu was stunned on the spot again. She didn't realize how close the Pokémon was. She wanted to run; straight back into her cottage, but curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know what species of Pokémon was causing her to freak out like this. She dared to take a few steps closer, coming closer by a yard before she stopped. The Pokémon had already edged closer, now only about five or six yards away. Aleu tried her best not to freak out, but was frozen in the spot for a few seconds. The Pokémon stopped moving about three yards away. The tension in the air was scaring Aleu.

Aleu shrugged off her fears. She wanted some answers to end her curiosity. She edged closer by a foot, nearly stopping but she was able to walk about another foot. Suddenly she was paralyzed, hearing a loud meow come from the Pokémon. A heap of brown and white fur sprang out of the flowers like coils, straight at Aleu. Aleu nearly screamed once she realized the Pokémon pounced at her, but used one hand to cover her mouth because she didn't want her parents to hear her scream. If her parents knew she didn't run inside, then she would be in trouble for not listening to their warnings. She quickly moved her hand away from her mouth, than used both of them to block the Pokémon. Her arms were crossed in front of her face cowardly.

She expecting something to tackle into her arms, but nothing came. She heard a sort of thud, but felt nothing. She slowly lowered her arms and surveyed the area. In the nearby flowers, she saw no abnormal movement or any brown blurs, making her confused. She looked behind her, but saw nothing. She looked in nearby flowers, but nothing was out of place. She gave out a frustrated sigh, and then a thought came to her. She looked directly down, straight at her dull black tennis shoes. Inches away from her, there was a brown and cream colored creature lying down on its back. Aleu nearly screamed from surprise, but quickly covered her mouth with both hands. She couldn't stop herself from jumping back from the shock however. Seconds later she was able to calm down from the sudden surprise, but she felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She knew her cheeks were red since her face felt really hot from some tension.

Aleu examined the Pokémon. It had really long brown ears in the shapes of diamonds. It had oval shaped eyes and a really fluffy tail. The tip of its tail was cream and it had a scruff around its neck, also a cream color. The rest of the Pokémon was a light brown, but over all, this Pokémon was just adorable. The Pokémon had a few of the white daises from the field in its mouth for some random reason. Aleu couldn't help it when she started to smile and her fears about this Pokémon went away. She knelt down, seeing the cute ball of fluff play around, rolling over in the flowers. Some of the white daises were now crushed with broken stems.

The Pokémon mewed again and stopped rolling around. It stared right at Aleu with those beady little eyes. Aleu noticed the color of its eyes were hazel, just like Aleu's were. She pondered the thought if all kinds of this Pokémon had hazel eyes. She dropped the thought, seeing this Pokémon was taking cuteness to a whole new level. Reluctantly Aleu reached a hand down towards its belly. The Pokémon didn't flinch or move and stayed calm on its back. She started to pet its belly, then the Pokémon started to purr. This Pokémon was just so cute to Aleu, almost perfect.

"Aw, you're not that dangerous, are you?" Aleu asked the Pokémon. It responded by giving a cute mew, one of the flowers in its muzzle slipping out. She continued to pet it. "What's your name?"

Aleu didn't know if she expected an answer or not, but the Pokémon mumbled something strange in response. _"Eevee!"_it mewed cutely, another flower almost falling out of its muzzle again. Aleu knew very little about Pokémon, but luckily she did know that some Pokémon tend to say their species name. She realized it was called an eevee. She didn't expect that to be its Pokémon name, but it most likely was. She decided to call the Pokémon Eevee for now.

"Okay Eevee, do you have a family?" Aleu asked, still petting the Pokémon's stomach. Eevee responded by shaking its head, and Aleu gasped with surprise, but not at the fact that Eevee didn't have a family. Eevee could understand her! Aleu never had been so amazed, and stopped petting the eevee for a second from shock. Then she snapped out of it and continued to rub the Pokémon's belly. She thought that maybe some Pokémon could understand humans, which she thought was cool.

"Eevee, do you have a home?" Aleu asked, but she didn't really want to know the answer. The eevee responded by shaking its head again, making her feel a bit depressed. This Pokémon had no home or family. Aleu guessed that this Pokémon was abandoned from some human, but couldn't believe someone could just do such a thing. Aleu didn't want to know what happened to Eevee, not wanting to get sadder if the answer was a bad one.

Aleu hanged out with Eevee a bit longer. Eevee wasn't dangerous at all, just playful. She petted the Pokémon longer. At some point Eevee got up and sat on Aleu's lap, and Aleu continued to pet him. Soon Aleu remembered about everything her parents had said. She quickly looked up in the sky, seeing that it was almost the end of sunset. Aleu sighed with relief, seeing that she wasn't late, but Aleu had one thought on her mind.

She had pondered a thought about Eevee the whole time ever since she found out Eevee didn't have a home. The Pokémon immediately trusted her and she trusted him back. She had hanged out with few Pokémon already, but she absolutely never had been this close with one before. Aleu wanted to keep the eevee so she could always have this much fun with it. It would also give Eevee a new home. It was a win-win situation.

"Hey Eevee," Aleu started. Eevee looked up at her with those hazel eyes, still lying down on her lap. Its fur warmed up Aleu's lap and that part of her stomach Eevee had leaned against. "Do you want to live with me? I have a nice cottage, and we would always be together! Can you please come home with me?" Aleu asked. Eevee gave out a small smile, and then closed her eyes when she mewed with excitement. Aleu knew that Eevee was saying yes. Aleu felt as if her body was flooded with happiness. She now had her own Pokémon! She could've waited for a ponyta or rapidash first, but an eevee was way better.

"Yay!" Aleu shouted with glee. Eevee jumped off her lap once he detected that Aleu was about to stand up with his instincts, but Aleu didn't know anything about a Pokémon's instincts. Aleu didn't think about it though, too excited. "Follow me!" Aleu ordered with her high pitched voice. It was more like an offer than an order the way she said it though. Either way, Eevee walked after the skipping girl. Eevee was happy now that he would have a family. Eevee hated it when his trainer abandoned him for being weak, it was his lost. Eevee hated to fight, and hopefully this little girl wouldn't make him battle. Eevee's old trainer was stupid, not knowing that an eevee was incredibly rare. If he did know that, Eevee knew that he'd still be with his stubborn trainer and would've never met this girl. If the girl knew that an eevee was rare, she definitely would've acted differently. Eevee wished he knew the name of the girl, but he knew he'd find out later so he had to be patient.

Aleu walked up the porch steps and flung the door open. Eevee flinched a bit from how fast she opened it, but quickly recovered. Aleu skipped inside, expecting Eevee to follow in behind her. Little did she know how a Pokémon would react once it came to an unknown human home? There were all sorts of new scents that busted out of the house, covered with human smells. Eevee didn't know how to react, stunned by how many scents reached his nose. Eevee cowered toward the ground and covered his sensitive nose with both paws, the sudden smells giving a burning pain. Eevee whimpered a bit uncontrollably, but then quickly got used to the scents, barely. He stood there, not wanting to head inside yet but he did want to follow the little girl. He got back up and shrugged off the pain, even though it was very tempting to paw at his nose. Slowly he trudged inside, but stopped just on the other side of the doorway, the smells overwhelming.

Aleu noticed her parents were still on the dull green couch of theirs. "Mummy! Pappy! Look who I found!" she yelled, still pretty happy. Aleu forgot every warning her parents had told her, now pointing at Eevee. Aleu was looking at the brown fur ball, not noticing how freaked out her parents were. Their faces went pale and the newspaper the dad was holding fell lightly from his hands. They were shocked beyond belief. First of all, there was a wild Pokémon in their home. If that wasn't shocking enough to them, the wild Pokémon was one of the rarest and cutest Pokémon in the world; an eevee.

The mom instantly shot up on her feet, about to scream, but she covered her mouth with both of her hands. They both glared at the Pokémon intruding their beloved home. The dad never let his eyes leave the Pokémon, looking at it as if he despised it. "Aleu, what is this _creature?_" he asked through gritted teeth. You could easily tell that he was about to yell, but Aleu didn't notice.

"This is Eevee!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I found him playing in the field. Isn't he just adorable?" Before her parents could say another word, Aleu ran up to Eevee and wrapped her arms around the fur ball. She squeezed the eevee tight in her arms, feeling the warmth emitting from his soft fluffy fur. The parents opened their mouths as if to say something but quickly shut it. They faced each other and leaned in towards each other, now discussing a conversation in whispers. Aleu couldn't hear anything through their mumbling, so she just sat down with Eevee. Meanwhile the parents discussed the pros and cons of keeping the eevee. There were several pros, a few examples of them being that it would help their daughter learn more about responsibility, bring the family closer together, and they would have more protection. The Pokémon seemed very young, only about a year old, so Eevee would be living for a long time. The cons were few in number, the only major one having to take care of him by buying extra food in town. After a little more talking, they turned away from each other, staring at Aleu. The pair looked cute, and more importantly they looked happy.

"Aleu," the dad muttered, getting Aleu's attention. She turned around to face her parents, some of her long black hair getting in her face. She quickly brushed it aside and looked up hopefully with wide hazel eyes. "Sweetie, we've been thinking about Eevee, and we need to ask something of you," the father continued.

"What is it?" Aleu asked. Eevee was curious as well and he tilted his head slightly.

The mother decided to continue from where the father left off. "If you want to keep the eevee, then you have to promise that you will take full responsibility for it. You need to give him food, water, a bed, and lots of love. If you agree to do this, then you can keep Eevee." Aleu's eyes seemed to light up. Her parents were giving her more responsibility already. She continued to rub her hands through the fluffy Pokémon's fur the whole time, Eevee purring and rubbing against Aleu's side.

"Of course!" Aleu replied a bit rashly, but she didn't have any doubts. She had loved Eevee ever since she laid her eyes on him and wanted to be his best friend forever.

Both of her parents looked at her and smiled. "Okay sweetie, you can keep him," the father announced. Aleu sprang up onto her feet and ran over to her parents, hugging them both separately with her tiny arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she screamed, almost about to cry tears of joy. Aleu's parents couldn't have been happier to see their daughter so overjoyed.

"No problem," her mom responded, now about to change the subject. "Now come on, we already had your bath ready." Normally any kind of exciting news would make Aleu depressed once she was about to take a bath, but that time was an exception. She ran over towards the bathroom, actually excited for once when it came to baths. Aleu knew from that day on, she would be great friends with Eevee forever.

-20 years later-

A girl around her mid-twenties sat down in a platinum white chair, sitting outside of a door painted white. She impatiently tapped one of her feet against the tile floor, twiddling one of her fingers around a strand of her long black hair. She looked nervously at the ground and continued to worry about her Pokémon. Aleu was sitting out in the waiting room of a Pokémon center while Eevee got her monthly check-up. Lately Eevee's been acting strangely and acted sluggish back at their home out in the countryside. Eevee has been bumping into objects and her senses seemed dulled. Whenever she called for Eevee to come to her, she always took her time sniffing at every object she was near. She had also seen that sometimes the pupil of Eevee's eyes was a faint ghostly white which worried her the most. Aleu has been worrying about him for a while now, so she decided to come and get her check-up a little bit early. She wasn't allowed to watch Eevee while he was inspected and was forced to wait outside like everyone else.

Aleu heard the creaking sound of the old wooden door opening slowly. She spun her head around to see who was coming out. She watched a girl with long pink hair walk out of the room, and then closed the door lightly behind her. In her arms was a weak looking eevee with lowered ears and a limp tail. Eevee wasn't that close to Aleu, but Aleu could still see the unusual whiteness in Eevee's eyes. Aleu stood up immediately with a serious expression. It was obvious that something was wrong.

"Nurse Joy, how is Eevee?" Aleu asked with a cracked voice. To Aleu, it looked as if Eevee was worse than when he first came in the Pokémon center. Nurse Joy avoiding making eye contact with Aleu and instead she stared down at the vulnerable Pokémon. There was a sort of uncomfortable vibe in the air.

"Not so good," Nurse Joy answered with her gentle voice. "You had a right to be worried Aleu. I gave Eevee a close examination, and realized he had lost one of his senses. Eevee had gone completely blind." Aleu's eyes shot open with surprise. She never thought it could've been something that serious. She just thought Eevee was coming down with some sort of Pokémon sickness, but blindness was a whole other subject. Aleu knew for a fact that Eevee would never heal from this, and it was a sign that he was getting older. Aleu knew that Eevee was getting closer and closer to death.

Aleu gasped and wanted to scream. She felt her whole face go pale. Her eyes grew misty as she had gotten the urge to cry. She raised both of her hands to her face and cupped them around her mouth then limply fell back into the chair. She shut her eyes tight as a few tears rolled down her cheeks, then hit the tile floor. She yelled lightly into her palms as she had let out some of her pain. She then grabbed a tissue from a nearby nightstand and yanked it out of the tissue box. She dried the tears from her eyes before she held the crumpled up tissue in her hands. She quickly located a trash can nearby and threw it over in its direction. It bounced off the wall and landed in the garbage can luckily. Aleu didn't care though, and continued to grieve over this tragedy.

Suddenly Aleu stood up with a sudden thought. "Is Eevee like this because I never decided to evolve him?" Aleu asked, demanding for an answer. Aleu decided to not evolve Eevee unless he wanted to, and he didn't. Otherwise, Eevee was perfect as he was.

Nurse Joy looked up at her. "Of course not Aleu. Evolution has nothing to do with this. This is just a side effect of aging, showing that Eevee is getting older," she explained. Aleu knew that Nurse Joy didn't have to explain the last part. Aging meant getting older, and the older Eevee got, the closer he got to death. Nurse Joy held the suffering eevee towards Aleu and placed him delicately in her arms. Aleu pulled Eevee's frail body close to her chest and buried her face in his fur. His fur used to be almost like feathers from a pillow, but now it was really brittle. The only parts that stayed soft were his tail and his white scruff. Aleu ignored the texture and cried a bit into his pelt. She reached her hand into his scruff and pulled out his Everstone. If it wasn't for this, he would've evolved several years ago. She quickly placed it back into his scruff. Suddenly Aleu felt him move his body so she lifted her head. He was now looking over in Aleu's direction with those pale eyes. He could sense that he was in Aleu's arms and he could still sense that she was miserable. He leaned in close to Aleu's cheek and licked it with his little pink tongue. Aleu gave out a faint smile and petted him once more.

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Aleu mumbled. She carried Eevee out of the Pokémon center and then placed him in the backseat of her gray Toyota truck. Aleu climbed into the driver's seat and buckled her seatbelt and readjusted the rearview mirror. She moved it till the mirror reflected the image of Eevee in the backseat. He was curled up in a ball and was about to fall asleep already. The seats were covered with bristly brown fur that Eevee had shed for every time Aleu let Eevee lounge around back there, before she knew he was blind. Aleu sighed and moved the gear shift into reverse, and then looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was behind her. She gently pressed her foot on the pedal and watched the car slowly back up. Soon Aleu was all the way out of the parking space, and she stole a last glace at poor defenseless Eevee before she started to drive.

-2 more years later-

Aleu was holding the freshly groomed eevee in her arms and kicked the door shut to her Toyota. She clumsily held Eevee in one arm as she fondled her hand through her pocket, reaching for her keys. She felt the familiar key ring and pulled it out of her pocket and walked up the front porch steps to the door to their house. She stuck a key in the lock and twisted it to the side, and then left the keys in the lock as she used the same hand to turn the door knob and push the door open. Aleu gently and carefully placed the blind eevee on the ground and stroke his back slightly before he stood back up. Aleu pulled the keys out of the lock and closed the front door, and then locked it from the inside. Aleu shoved the keys back into her jacket pocket. She took off her snow boots which were still mildly slushy from the snowy weather outside and placed them by the coat rack, then took off her coat and hung it on the rack. She took off her mittens and hat and placed it right next to her boots.

The weather was crazy lately. It was only about a week after New Year's Eve, and snow was everywhere. Aleu had shoveled the snow off her driveway in the morning and then went off to the Pokémon center to get Eevee's fur groomed, but even then there was a thin layer of frost back on the cement. She had second thoughts about shoveling her driveway about twice every day. Tomorrow she was going to buy some rock salt and spread that on her driveway to keep the snow melted, like most lazy people do.

Aleu looked at Eevee and saw how relaxed he looked. Since she brought him into the Pokémon center that morning, she was able to get his fur groomed. Earlier that day Eevee had matted fur which seemed dull and lifeless. Now it looked as great as it could ever be. His pelt seemed to shine and Eevee almost looked young again. Eevee's fur was close to being as soft as it used to be. Aleu picked up the eevee and ran her fingers through his fur. He purred and rubbed his head against Aleu's hand, never getting tired of Aleu's petting. Aleu looked into Eevee's eyes, used to it after living with them for two years. She stared into the blank milky white eyes that she knew so much. Aleu still missed the familiar hazel color that she used to see every day though.

She gently carried Eevee towards her comfy blue sofa and settled him down. She sat right next to him and started to pet her best friend. Eevee purred and slowly crawled onto Aleu's lap with the guidance of her hand. Aleu missed the feeling of Eevee's old soft fur and continued to fondle with his fur. Aleu scratched behind his ear as he nuzzled up against her stomach. He burrowed his muzzle into her stomach and purred. It has been forever since the two had spent quality time with each other. Aleu continued to stroke Eevee's fur and scratched his ears.

While Aleu continued to play with the blind eevee, a depressing thought never left her mind. Soon she wouldn't be able to see this cutie's face every time she woke up. It was a miracle that Eevee could live this long, but he wouldn't live forever. Aleu wanted to spend the rest of the day with Eevee so she'd be confident that she had one last day with Eevee. She was still petting the fluffy fur ball and he was rolling around on her lap. Aleu smiled.

She picked up Eevee and started to carry him towards the bathroom. Once inside she placed him delicately down on the tile floor. His fur may have been groomed, but there was nothing else that she like more than a nice hot bath. Aleu remembered the time when Eevee and she were still young and Eevee loved to take baths. He wanted to have one at least every few days instead of every few weeks like a normal Pokémon would. Maybe another bath would make him a little more optimistic, and would be perfect for this cold weather.

Aleu turned on the faucet and slowly the bathtub filled up with warm water. Aleu constantly had to make sure that Eevee wouldn't wander off while they waited, seeing the eevee was confused on where he was. She had to start petting him to keep him from wondering off until the bath was ready. Aleu made sure the water wasn't too cold or too hot before she picked up her little pet.

Slowly, Aleu lowered only Eevee's paws into the water. Eevee looked shocked once he felt his paws getting wet, but finally he understood he was about to take a nice refreshing bath. She lowered him a little more till about half of his body was underwater, letting him slowly get used to it. Soon he was able to touch the bottom of the tub with his furry paws, the water all the way up to his scruff. The fur seemed to float around underwater very loosely and the warm water comforted Eevee. He sat down, his head able to stay above the surface, and leaned against the side of the bathtub and relaxed. He closed his milky white eyes and nearly drifted off into a short nap. Thankfully Aleu made sure his head never fell under the surface just like a true human owner would do.

They stayed in there for at least half an hour. Aleu was able to get Eevee's head wet and clean by using a wet rag. Eevee didn't really like that part because rarely water got into his eyes and the water clung to his skin since his head was above water. When it was time for him to get out, Aleu grabbed two dry towels and laid one of them down right next to the bathtub. Aleu grabbed the soaking wet eevee from the tub, his fur starting to annoyingly cling to his skin. Quickly, Aleu grabbed the second towel and wrapped Eevee around with it. Then she placed the eevee-in-a-blanket down on the first towel that was spread out on the tile floor. Half of the water from Eevee's fur drained out into the towels within the first few minutes.

Once most of the water was out, Aleu picked up the carefully wrapped eevee and a brush that was on the counter. She made sure that the water in the bathtub was drained and she left the bathroom and started to head up her stairs. Once at the top, she went down a short corridor and entered one of the rooms on the left side. They entered the master bedroom and Aleu placed Eevee on the edge of the bed and put the brush on her nightstand. She walked back over to Eevee and took off the towel, then threw it lazily on the floor. Immediately the Pokémon started to shiver from the cold.

Aleu flopped down on the neatly-made bed, now partly ruining the covers already. She whistled to call over Eevee as he slowly padded over to her. Before he reached Aleu, she grabbed a remote and switched on her HD Flat screen TV. When Eevee was next to her, she petted his wet fur slightly then grabbed the brush from the nightstand. Aleu started to brush his pelt, getting out the rest of the water. He purred during it, feeling that he was getting a little bit warmer with each brush stroke. A few minutes later Aleu placed the brush back on the nightstand and started to pet Eevee's newly groomed fur.

Eevee cuddled against Aleu trying to get as warm as possible while she surfed through the channels. As time had passed by, Eevee's fur started to fluff out, and soon it looked normal and softer again. It looked softer then before the bath actually, and it felt exactly like when Eevee was young. Aleu knew that the softness wasn't going to last long, and that by tomorrow it would be more bristle. Aleu ran her fingers through Eevee's fur yet again, hearing a purr come from Eevee with each drawing breath. Aleu missed hanging out with Eevee like this. If only she could play outside with him, but the blindness would prevent any of it.

Hours have passed. Aleu and Eevee didn't leave the bed till it was dinner when they headed downstairs to the kitchen. Aleu added a special sugar coating to the Pokémon food for Eevee, wanting things to still be perfect for him. Less than an hour later, they were already in the master bedroom again and did the same thing they were doing before. Aleu browsed through the channels while Eevee curled up against her side. Soon Eevee was curled up in a tight ball and fell asleep. Aleu stared at him, seeing how adorable he looked. She thought it was time to put him back in his bed a while after he fell asleep.

She gently picked him up as slowly and carefully as she could. Luckily he was in a very deep sleep so he didn't wake up yet, but too much movement would change that. She slowly carried him down from the bed onto a brown-and-cream colored pet bed. For a moment Aleu thought that she saw Eevee waking up, but found out she was actually wrong. Eevee was gently placed in his bed, looking very peaceful and tranquil. He looked absolutely at peace. Aleu smiled wide and then patted him softly on the head. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered good night to him. She quietly moved away from him and climbed into her bed. With the thought that Eevee was sleeping soundly, she soon herself drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Aleu started to stir from the light shining through her window. She forgot to close the curtains last night. She uncomfortably grabbed one of her pillows, half-conscious, and threw it at the window. The light disappeared for a second but came back soon after. Aleu groaned, and finally forced herself to open her eyes and sit up in the bed. She gave out a long yawn before remembering about Eevee. She smiled after she thought about yesterday. Aleu was pretty sure that Eevee really enjoyed last night. She was glad that she at least got to hang out with Eevee for a day one last time.

She moved over to the side of the bed, her legs dangling a bit. She saw the brown-and-cream bed with her little darling resting peacefully in it. Aleu knew it was time for both of them to wake up, so she poked at Eevee's tail with her barefoot lightly. "Come on Eevee, time to wake up," she chimed. Eevee didn't even budge. Aleu sighed and poked him a little harder except on the ribs. He should've been up by then.

He didn't even move, not even a twitch of the ear. "Eevee?" she repeated. Aleu stood up and stretched a bit, than bent down to get a closer look at him. His fur still looked honey golden and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The only thing eerie was the fact at how still he was. He wasn't even moving.

He wasn't even moving.

He wasn't even breathing.

Aleu finally realized the problem and her eyes shot wide open. Her whole face turned a ghostly pale. Her sleepy smile immediately changed into a frown. She reached a shaky hand down to touch Eevee. She tried to move one of his paws, but it was as stiff as a board. Then she held onto Eevee's wrist to see if she could feel a pulse. Aleu's breathing started to speed up. She felt his paw and there was no pulse. Aleu moved her hand to his chest and felt around the area for a heartbeat a second time, but still nothing happened.

Shakily, Aleu moved her hand away from the unmoving creature, tears stinging her eyes. She felt as if someone was slowly digging a dagger into her chest. Her eyes filled with tears within seconds and she looked down at her floor, unable to stare at Eevee any longer. She fell to her knees and felt her whole body go limp. Warm tears fell, hitting the carpet, leaving small stains. The tears shined in the dawn light as they fell but then disappeared in the shadows of the bed. She shut her eyes tight which forced more tears to come out, and it caused her to fall down on her elbows. "E-E-E-Eevee-e…" she sobbed before she cried out again. Aleu haven't felt so beaten down in her life. Her black hair had tears stained in several parts of it, and it was just a wild tangled mess.

Aleu tried desperately not to look over at the lifeless body, afraid that more tears would come. She remembered all the happy memories she had with Eevee, from when they first met in the field of flowers outside her parents' cottage to everything that happened yesterday, and everything in between. Now all those memories only brought sadness. Aleu didn't realize how long she's been bawling out on the floor, but knew that she was drained once she had finished. She got up shakily and stared at the body by accident with her sore eyes. Before she got all worked up again, she looked away, gritting her teeth. Aleu knew he needed a proper burial.

So Aleu ripped off a few of her bed sheets and was about to cover up the Pokémon, but took one last look at her buddy. She saw his fur which ironically looked perfect, and if he was moving just a bit, he'd seem very healthy. His diamond shaped ears, his fluffy scruff, that adorable tail of his. His light brown pelt shined in the early morning light casted from the window. Aleu felt herself about to tear up again, so she quickly threw her sheets on top of Eevee. She didn't notice though that a lone tear fell and landed in his caramel colored pelt right before he was covered with the fabric.

Aleu carried the limp body in her arms, completely wrapped up in her sheets. She cradled him in her arms and carefully walked downstairs. She decided to lay down the body on her blue couch, but she would come back for it. She put her snow boots and heavy jacket on and opened her door to the backyard. Once outside, she stared out into the backyard, seeing the place layered with snow. She took a step forward and gently closed the door behind her. The snow crunched underneath her snow boots as she walked through the area. The only thing she could see was the snow covering the ground, a nice wooden picket fence bordering her yard, and a shovel leaning against the side of her house that she forgot to put away earlier. She walked towards the shovel and gripped it in a shaky hand.

Hours had passed. Aleu was staring down at the grave she had just dug with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She had gone shopping earlier once she had buried Eevee. She bought a gravestone with a memorial carved in it. Then she stopped by a flower shop and bought this bouquet. With a shaky breath, Aleu started to read the words on the gravestone out loud.

"Eevee. 1990-2013. A Beloved Friend Who Will Never Be Forgotten," Aleu read. She felt herself starting to tear up but she quickly held it back. She stared at the bouquet of white flowers in her hand. A white daisy bouquet. Aleu placed the flowers on the tampered dirt which was already covered with frost. Before Aleu could start crying, she ran towards her back door and flung it open. Aleu slammed it behind her and she ran upstairs on the verge of tears. Her best friend had died. She was now all alone. All alone…

Every year on January 7, she walked up to his grave and placed a bouquet of white daises down. Nothing seemed to change. Aleu had kept the job she had for a long time, she never sold her house for a better one even though she had the money, and she had several friends for many years. The only thing that had changed was she never heard the purrs from her buddy and she was lonely every single night. When she should've retired and moved into a retirement home, she stayed at her house and continued to operate as any regular person would. Even when she was old, she went to the flower shop every January 7th and bought a bouquet of white daisies, and set it down on Eevee's grave.

And Aleu had never gone a day by without thinking about Eevee.

**In memory of my cat, Thomas.**

**This is one of the few ways I can remember Thomas, and yes, it's a bit weird that it's in Pokémon version, but that's how I roll.**

**He had lived an outstanding 23 years, barely making it to 2013.**

**He was bought when he was only a year old, and my dad had taken care of him for the rest of his life.**

**This black tabby cat has been with me ever since I was born and he was very dear to me.**

**He did go blind about two years before he died. My dad had also taken him to the vet to get groomed and he spent the rest of his day with Thomas.**

**He died in his sleep with after the one last day with his family.**

**He will be missed dearly.**

**Treasure your pets. Keep them close to you. Love them with all your heart.**


End file.
